The last city on the way to the Venice biennale was, unsurprisingly, Venice itself. As one of the world’s top destinations there’s hardly anything left untold and unseen from Venice. The statement that every street and little piazza is an art tour in itself is true here even more than anywhere else in Italy. Unfortunately the number of tourists is slowly destroying the city itself, but the beautiful façade remains together with small pockets of normal life in the more remote areas. Here I present you a random collection of photos that are not representative of almost anything of the above said, but are hopefully enjoyable to look at.

A nice piece of street art on a small side street, I’d say the 4-eyed woman is Venezia itself.The contrasts are everywhere around Venice, with the big yachts of rich people parked near other people’s underwear drying above the street.More of the typical small side streets with less tourists and more laundry.The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) and the gondolieri driving tourists up and down the canal.A small snack break with the famous Venetian cicchetti, the local version of tapas.More canals and bridges, everywhere around you.Early dinner for some people in a more remote area of Venice where tourists and restaurants are (only) slightly more rare.A restaurant waiter walking up another tiny “vicolo”, or alley.Another day, another canal and another bridge (from which the photo is taken). Not a bad way to finish the Italy art tour series, right?

While parts of Venice are overrun (dare I say ruined?) by tourists, as your photos prove that’s not true of the entire city. As dehggial said, those who wander off the beaten path and see past the can be rewarded with a Venice that still feels intimate and authentic. In any case, beautiful photos!

I love Venice, and yes, I was a tourist there too. I think the powers that be tried to stem the tourist tide by putting up barriers (physical barriers, not just monetary barriers like the tourist tax). The locals tore the barriers down, and quite rightly too. Venice may be our holiday destination, but it’s their home. I wonder if tourism in itself will be the countermeasure needed, the charm of the place is not quite so compelling to be visited when you can’t see past the crowds to find the beauty.
On another note entirely, your photos are beautiful, thanks, they brought some wonderful memories back to the surface. 😊 😊 😊